Self-disclosure, Privacy and the Internet

Abstract

In this chapter, we examine the extant research literature on self-disclosure and the Internet, in particular by focussing on disclosure in Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) and to web-based forms – both to surveys and in e-commerce applications. We also consider the links between privacy and self-disclosure, and the unique challenges (and opportunities) that the Internet poses for the protection of privacy. Finally, we propose three critical issues that unite the ways in which we can best understand the links between privacy, self-disclosure and new technology: trust and vulnerability, costs and benefits and control over personal information. Central to the chapter is the premise that self-disclosure online is a paradox: while visual anonymity and increased distance might heighten disclosure in one context (e.g. in person-to-person interactions or in online research), they do not seem to have the same effect when people are asked for personal information from commercial websites, usually because of a combination of privacy concerns, lack of trust and concern about how personal information will be used (Hoffman, Novak and Peralta, 1999; Metzger, 2004). Therefore, we propose that the wider context in whic